This invention relates to a security barrier device of a type which can be readily moved into position to prevent a vehicle entering a prohibited area.
Many different situations occur where it is desired or required to prevent vehicles entering a prohibited or restricted area. These occasions can vary from the minor nuisance situation where an unauthorized person improperly uses a reserved or allocated car parking space thus causing a problem for the authorized user, to criminal situations where a vehicle can be driven close to a building and articles or equipment stolen from the building under cover of the close proximity of the vehicle to the building. In other situations it is sometimes required that a roadway be closed for part of the time and open to allow access at other times.
In all of these cases it is desirable to have a barrier arrangement which can be simply and readily erected and removed so that the intended or authorized users can properly move their vehicle into the desired space while unauthorized users are prevented from entering the space.
Clearly it is undesirable that a barrier of this sort include a part which is removable since this must then be carried or stored in some suitable location and then replaced when it is required for use.
It is one object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a device which can be mounted in the surface of an area, for example a car park, a roadway or the like to be protected and which can provide a barrier which can be raised and lowered as required and yet maintain the integrity of the surface and security of the barrier equipment.
According to the invention, therefore, a security barrier device comprising an elongate container with a pair of sides, a pair of ends interconnecting the sides and an open top, a post member having a length and width less than that of the container so that in a first position thereof it can lie in the container along the length of the container, mounting means connecting to the post adjacent one end thereof and to the container adjacent a respective end thereof coupling said post to said container for pivotal movement relative thereto from the first position to a second position in which the post extends from the container in a direction substantially at right angles thereto, cover means for said container mounted on said container for movement relative thereto from a closed position in which it can cover said container and said post in said first position of said post and in which it can cover said container and provide an opening through which said post can project in said second position of said post, to an open position in which it allows said pivotal movement of said post, and locking means arranged so as when locked to lock said post in said second position thereof.
According to a second aspect of invention there is provided a security barrier device comprising an elongate container having a pair of sides, a pair of ends interconnecting the sides and an open top, a post member having a length and width less than that of the container such that in a first position thereof it can lie in the container along the length of the container, mounting means connected to the post adjacent one end thereof and to the container adjacent to a respective end thereof coupling said post to said container for limited sliding movement and for pivotal movement of the post relative to the container from the first position to a second position in which the post extends from the container in a direction substantially at right angles thereto, said mounting means including latching means into engagement with which said post can slide relative to said container to retain said post in said second position, cover means for said container mounted on said container for movement relative thereto from a closed position in which the cover means covers said container and said post in said first position of the post and in which said cover means covers said container and provides an opening through which said post can project in said second position of said post, to an open position in which said cover means allows said pivotal movement of said post, locking means for locking said cover means in said closed position, and cooperating abutment means on said post and on said cover means for retaining said post against said sliding movement out of said latched condition when said cover means is in said closed position thereof whereby to lock said post in said second position thereof.
The invention has the advantage, therefore, that the barrier itself is maintained in the container which is mounted in the ground in horizontal condition with the cover providing a substantially complete cover for the container and which can be locked in a closed condition or opened to allow the barrier to be raised and lowered. In addition, the locking of the cover automatically retains the barrier in the erected condition.
Preferably the locking mechanism is provided as a part of the container, and can be mounted on an outer surface of the container so that it is also buried in the ground and protected from vandalism. The single locking mechanism which locks the cover in place thus acts to secure the barrier when it is in the lowered condition and also to hold it in the erected condition.
The slide coupling between the post and the container advantageously allows the post to be moved laterally as it is pivoted to the erected condition so that it can fall into a recess in a bottom plate of the container to hold the post in the erected condition while it is locked into the latched condition by the downward movement of the cover into engagement with a tab on an outer surface of the post.